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The Two O’Clock Boy [review]

Well, this was an explosive and impressive start to what promises to be a great new crime series!

The Two O’Clock Boy features an intricate, interesting and fast-paced plot which kept my intrigued – and guessing – until the end. The main character, DI Drake, is a bit of a maverick and is certainly different in many ways to the usual high-up Detective, though I won’t say how, and the rest of the team have their own quirks and personality traits which make them an interesting team to read about. I really liked Flick, too, although at times she didn’t really help herself in being liked by others! Described as being a great book for fans of Luther, I’d have to agree – it’s got a real edge to it and I always love reading crime series set in the UK (this series being set in London).

In this book people are not who they seem to be, and those who should be helping others don’t always set up to the mark. No one is perfect, nothing is too clear cut – some people have good parts and bad parts to them, but it doesn’t make them good or bad, just human. To me it also poses the question: can people really change? The characters in this novel really make it such a gripping, impressive read – they’re complex and full of surprises.

The story twists and turns with plenty of action and grit. The narrative focuses on two main timeframes – the present day, as Drake and his team set about furiously trying to solve the case, and back in the 80’s at a horrible children’s home. Some parts are quite hard to read about, particularly those set in the past narrative, with the poor kids stuck at Longacre Children’s home, but it all adds to the shocking feel of the book.

Dark, deep and deliciously twisted… I raced through The Two O’Clock Boy and am already looking forward to number 2 in the series!

[Rating: 5/5]

Many thanks to Sphere for providing a copy of this novel, on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.